Corporate social responsibility

As a good corporate citizen, Rentenbank mainly supports local cultural institutions and selected projects in Frankfurt am Main, where the bank has its headquarters. The cultural institutions we support on a regular basis through our membership in the respective sponsorship associations include the art gallery Schirn Kunsthalle, the Städel Museum, and the modern art museum Museum für Moderne Kunst.

Our annual Christmas donation supports the following charitable organisations in the Frankfurt area: “Die Arche” Kinderstiftung Christliches Kinder- und Jugendwerk, which provides aid to children and youths from disadvantaged backgrounds, the hospice association Hospizverein Sankt Katharina e.V., the aid agency Malteser Hilfsdienst e.V., and the “Winter Action” campaign of the Sankt Katharinengemeinde.

Rentenbank’s employees regularly donate bags filled with groceries to support the work of “Die Arche” in Frankfurt. They also donated school supplies, participated in the “Wish List” campaign by purchasing Christmas gifts for the children and youths served by this organisation and providing tutoring services to help them with their schoolwork.

Rentenbank never uses donations or sponsoring to influence third parties improperly. Rentenbank does not enter into sponsoring agreements with and does not make donations to political parties and organisations.

Rentenbank Donations 2021-2024 (in euros)

Gerd Sonnleitner Award for Volunteering Work

Rentenbank has sponsored the annual Gerd Sonnleitner Award, which comes with a cash prize of EUR 5,000, since 2014. Candidates should be less than 35 years old and perform exemplary work in the service of the reconciliation of interests in rural areas according to the example of the prominent farmers’ advocate after whom the award is named. Since the past year, however, the Gerd Sonnleitner Award has been suspended as it undergoes a fundamental overhaul.

Buchenborn Forest Project

As an example of its targeted support of nature conservation efforts in the Rhine-Main region, Rentenbank has since 2016 promoted a forestry project in the 550-hectare Buchenborn Forest District in the Wetterau region of Hesse State, together with the German Institute for Federal Real Estate (Bundesanstalt für Immobilienaufgaben, BImA). With their long-term commitment to this project, Rentenbank and BImA make an active contribution to climate, species, and biodiversity protection in an area directly in the immediate environs of Rentenbank’s headquarters in Frankfurt am Main.

By means of sustainable forestry and other projects, numerous ecosystem conservation services are provided and financially rewarded in the forest area. Rentenbank and BImA have entered into a framework agreement for this purpose. BImA manages the forest area according to strict ecological principles. Among other measures, it leaves waste wood and dead wood to enrich the ecosystem. Furthermore, it makes a point of using no biocides of any kind. Other focal points of the agreement include the support of locally appropriate vegetation on the basis of potential natural vegetation, adapted wildlife stock, and special species conservation measures. The Nature Conservation Department of the German Federal Forest Service (Bundesforst) provides expert advice and quality assurance services.

Under this same collaboration, additional ecosystem conservation services are provided in the form of individual measures. Eleven of these additional measures contributing to nature and species conservation have since been initiated. The project “1.000 Baumriesen” (1,000 Tree Giants) was one of the first to be implemented. The goal of this project is to protect and promote old, large, and vital trees in the Buchenborn Forest. These giant trees perform a diverse range of specific tasks in the forest ecosystem, including natural forest rejuvenation, shelter for different species of animals, and habitat for a large number of insect and spider species. The preservation of animal habitat is also the goal of the “Sommerhang” (Summer Slope) project, which is aimed at creating a warmer and drier forest climate. This untypical forest climate benefits increasingly rare species of insects and birds, but also wildcats. The growth of wildcat populations is promoted in the “Auf leisen Pfoten” (On Silent Paws) project. The highly endangered European wildcat prefers structurally diverse, near-natural forests where they can find adequate places of refuge and hunting grounds. Since other species of animals need more light and sun, the “Sonnenanbeter” (Sun Worshippers) project was initiated to return two old stone quarries in Buchenborn to nature and trim the surrounding forest vegetation. The sunny areas so created will benefit the native common lizards, smooth snakes, blindworms, and insects. Recently added projects include “Taubenwäldchen” (Pigeon Woods), “Hirsch der Insekten” (Stag of the Insects), and “Das Summen im Wald” (Buzzing in the Forest). The first project is a special measure to protect the stock pigeon and create optimal conditions to help this species of pigeon recover quickly. The second project is focused on the protection and promotion of the stag beetle, known as the largest beetle species in Europe, which is on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The third project aims to promote and protect insects in Buchenborn in view of the fact that both the total population and the species diversity of insects have declined sharply over the last few decades.

The Buchenborn Forest Project exemplifies the beneficial effects of promoting additional eco-system performance in economically exploited forest areas by providing the necessary financial resources.